1. Field of the Invention
The techniques and embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to non-living objects to which humans respond at a visceral level and more specifically to non-living objects with which humans interact at a visceral level.
2. Description of Related Art
Related art to the techniques disclosed herein can be found in the following areas:
Biofeedback Devices
A biofeedback device is an instrument that measures a physiological function not normally sensed or controlled by the user consciously and displays information about the measurement to the user. The user can thus become aware of the physiological function consciously, and perhaps train herself/himself to control it consciously.
An example of a biofeedback device is the StressEraser: The StressEraser is a personal biofeedback device that detects the user's pulse using a non-invasive detector, and displays to the user a heart rate variability wave representing the beat-to-beat variations in the user's heart rate. Information on the StressEraser can be found at www.stresseraser.com (reference fetched 28 Sep. 2009).
Human-Machine Relationships
The inventor's PhD thesis, published Nov. 12, 2008, Kelly Dobson, “Machine Therapy”, Ph.D. Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explores human-machine relationships. One part of that exploration is the inventions disclosed herein. Another part describes how humans find it enjoyable to “sing along” with sounds generated by heavy equipment or by household appliances such as blenders. Another part describes previously-published work in which the inventor modified a kitchen blender so that the blender, termed “Blendie” in the thesis, responded to a user's voice by adjusting its own motor speed to match the dominant pitch and power of the user's voice.